Day 13 – 11 miles hiked (trail mile 120.4)
We started our morning with Beyond Meat sausage biscuits that we made in the hostel kitchen. It’s incredible how close they are to the real thing. We had a couple extra to share and they were a big hit with Gandalf, Dr. Who, and Zen.
Nomad took us by the outfitter on the shuttle ride back to the trail and we picked up a couple new water filters: a Sawyer squeeze and a Be Free Katadin. Since our other bottled waters froze overnight our last night on the trail, we were concerned our water filters may have frozen as well, which would have rendered them useless. There is no way to tell, but we decided to play it safe and replace them. Giardia is not something we want to risk. Moving forward we will sleep with our filters on our person (or in the toe box of our quilts) on freezing nights. We already love the Be Free filter; it has a high flow rate and is very easy to use!
Our hike began with a footbridge over a cascading waterfall. Halfway through the day we met a couple trail angels from Franklin who were offering brownies and soda to thruhikers. We didn’t want the treats (We later heard a hiker refer to the brownies as the ‘brownies of death’… ha!) but we chatted with them awhile. Lucky Moon is paying it forward and doing trail magic this year while planning her own thruhike for next year after she retires. Her husband, Jim, will be supporting her.
Toward the end of our hike we summitted Wayah Bald (“Wayah Bald, Bitches!” had been the collective warrior cry prompted by Zen when leaving the hostel) and we were able to see the Smokey Mountains—where we are headed—from the rock tower at the top! Wa’ Ya’ means wolf in Cherokee.
When we walked up, a solo hiker named Dragonsky yelled excitedly, “A WOMAN!” when she saw me walk up. It is true there are more men out here, although I am impressed by how many solo female hikers we’ve met! We lucked out and found the last flat tent site tucked into the far reaches of Wayah Shelter, then got our tent set up and bear bag hung just in time for sunset. We joined a group of hikers at the shelter: Dragon Sky, Dr Who, Gandalf, Rocket Man and Blue Jacket, and enjoyed each other’s company for about an hour before turning in around 8. One of the metal pieces in the shelter sliced about an inch of Chris’s down jacket so we repaired it with some fabric repair tape. Then we spilled a bag of trail mix on the shelter floor to which was both awkward and hilarious since hikers go to such great lengths to not attract bears by keeping food away from the shelter at night. We did our best to pick up every last bit.
Rocket Man told us that he thinks he already had Norovirus and that a couple he had been hiking with had to be hospitalized with it. Chris is very vigilant about norovirus, and we always use hand sanitizer after touching any ‘shared’ objects and never accept food offerings if others’ hands may have touched it (e.g. shared bags of M&Ms). Norovirus is basically spread by someone having feces on their hand and then eventually that feces making its way into someone’s digestive system. Since personal hygiene is rather lacking out here this is a real risk and due to it’s level of contagion, norovirus sweeps through huge sections of the trail every year, especially the more populated sections. It is funny switching over to this world where Covid-19 takes a backseat to so many other ever-present risks.
Day 14: 9.8 miles hiked (trail mile 130.2)
We took our time getting out of camp this morning. Dragonsky was packed and ready to go at the same time as us, so we decided to hike together for awhile. Dragonsky is a creative, young Black woman (and solo hiker) from New Jersey who has set her sights on becoming a Triple Crowner. She would be the second Black woman to triple crown and first gay Black woman to triple crown. She already has a bunch of gear sponsors and is building an online presence to make the trail more accessible to BIPOC communities: instagram.com/_dragonsky__. She is the first person to hike with us all day out here and it was a fun shake-up of our daily routine.
We took a long lunch break at Cold Spring shelter and met Donatello, who is hiking with a large staff. We also finally got to chat with the Gap Year Gang: 3 young guys that are hiking together. We had a couple mountain summits today but otherwise fairly smooth walking.
We wrapped up our hike at Wesser Bald, a mountain top with a huge observation deck on top. The 360° view was so spectacular and the deck so spacious and flat that we decided it was a perfect spot to cowboy camp (sleeping under the stars without a tent). Another group of three decided to sleep up here, too, so we are in good company. The steps seemed too tall and rickety for a bear to climb so we decided to sleep with our food which felt quite luxurious.
As we watched the beautiful sunset, Issa whittled a pipe for Dragonsky. We also met a local who had hiked up catch the sunset. He was evidently tickled to find the top of the deck covered with hikers sprawled out in our colorful sleeping bags and quilts. He told us to make sure to see the crescent moon rise at 6am just before the sunrise. We are going to see if we can make that happen without an alarm. With six of us up here someone should be able to notice and wake the rest.
Without a tent or bear bag to contend with in the morning it should be quick getting back on the trail and into the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) tomorrow to pick up our replacement tent pole shipment from Big Agnes, and resupply for the next couple days until Fontana Dam.
Late night thoughts: I wish I could get a good photo of the stars from up here but it is beyond the capability of my phone camera. It feels like we are in a designated dark sky zone with how much the sky glitters above. We also saw a shooting star.
Day 15: 9.2 miles hiked (trail mile 139.4)
At 6am all of us on the tower sat up to watch the crescent moon rise. It was a beautiful sight and the sun followed shortly after.
We feel so fortunate to have had this amazing camping experience so early into our trek. Cowboy camping will be more challenging once the bugs are out in force. Colgate, Issa and Carter packed up and took off, followed by Chris and me. Dragonsky stayed to write (she is authoring a book about her experience on the trail) and stretch; she is an inspiration to make time for introspection and creativity on the trail. It is easy to get caught up in the physical challenge and simply try to “crush miles” each day.
An occasionally steep seven-mile trek down the mountain and we arrived at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). Here we had two packages awaiting us, including our missing tent part, which Big Agnes hooked us up with for free! The relief I felt in receiving this missing part really drove home the fact that this tent is our actual home for the next few months.
We got lunch to go from The Rivers End restaurant: veggie burger, sweet potato fries, salad, cauliflower wings. Outside the restaurant we ran into Rocky, Dr. Who’s friend who we originally met at the Atlanta train station. She is here giving out trail magic beer and helping hikers slack-pack the section between the NOC and Fontana Dam. She is starting the trail in April but will probably catch us in Maine because she is known for doing very high-mile days (upwards of 50 miles a day).
There was a cluster of thruhikers hanging out by the Rivers Edge so we ate while perched on a low stone wall near some of our companions.
Dr Who will be getting off the trail here for a few weeks for a work gig, but he is staying in touch with others from our pack and rejoining up the trail.
We debated staying at the NOC for the night but ultimately decided to save our money and move on so we could treat ourselves to a stay at the lodge at Fontana Dam before we enter the Smokies. We probably should have sent a Resupply box to the NOC even if only for the two day stretch to Fontana Dam, but we were able to get what we needed at the NOC General Store, albeit expensive. It looks like we will be eating lots of cookies and graham crackers with peanut butter until Friday.
We headed up Sassafrass Mountain for about three miles and ran across Snapshot and Spots at an unofficial campsite halfway up the mountain just below a big cave. They had a campfire going and we decided to call this home for the night and push for more miles tomorrow. Caramel, M&M&M, and Gandalf joined us, too. Bats came flying out of the cave right after sunset, answering our speculations about what lives in the cave!
Day 16 – 16.6 miles hiked (trail mile 156)
An early start, out by 7:15. We had a big day ahead of us and needed to put in some miles if we wanted to make it to Fontana Dam in time for our room reservation. We hiked straight up a huge mountain for the first five miles and then some PUDs (pointless ups and downs) and another mountain summit, followed by more PUDs.
A bald eagle soared over the valley below us when we were coming out of Simp Gap. The same crew we camped with near the cave kept at about the same pace as us with the same destination, so we crossed paths multiple times. Everyone was sweaty and focused, and some listening to music in earbuds to keep their pace up.
After a strenuous first half of the day, we had our fingers crossed for trail magic at Stecoah Gap. As luck would have it a man pulled into the parking lot mere seconds after we arrived, threw open the lit to the cooler on the back of his truck, and offered everyone ice-cold beers and soda. The trail angel was an older man who was also thruhiking the trail, supported by his wife. He had taken the day off to look into buying a few acres that were sale near the AT. Shortly thereafter, a couple of day hikers from Florida pulled in with more drinks! There were also a couple of neatly labeled snack bags left out on the picnic tables by some folks from a local church; the contents were divvied up amongst hikers. We also met a local man named Crockett who was out getting into shape for his own thruhike beginning in April and excited to talk gear.
Freshly carb-loaded, we ascended yet another very steep mountain and walked until about 6:30pm when we reached Cody Gap, a packed campsite with maybe eight tents. Everyone is eager to make it to the Smokies. Chris had a good chat with M&M&M about the national parks. 16.5 miles covered today with 7,000 feet total elevation climbed. We must be getting stronger.